Researchers of a study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2012 investigated the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and blood pressure in US adults. Among 25,850 participants (14,162 with hypertension), current HCV infection was not associated with hypertension or systolic blood pressure (SBP) after adjusting for covariates. However, both HCV infection and current HCV infection were independently associated with elevated diastolic blood pressure (DBP), showing an increase of 4.1 mmHg and 4.24 mmHg, respectively. Past HCV infection, on the other hand, showed no significant correlation with hypertension, SBP, or DBP.

These findings suggest that current HCV infection may contribute specifically to elevated DBP but does not influence hypertension or SBP. The lack of association with past HCV infection highlights the importance of differentiating between current and resolved infections when assessing cardiovascular risk factors. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind elevated DBP in individuals with active HCV infection.

Reference: Yang F, Luo J. The association between hepatitis C virus infection status and blood pressure in adults in the United States: NHANES 1999-2012. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024;14:1401323. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1401323.